In the development of future vehicle generations, the ever-stricter legal standards for CO2 emission toward ever-lower emission values are taken into consideration. This is achievable, inter alia, by an ever more extensive weight reduction of the motor vehicles. Simultaneously, the future vehicle generations must meet the legal requirements for occupant protection, which require a sufficiently reinforced passenger compartment of the motor vehicle. In addition, the different drive technologies, which will be available in future on the market, are taken into consideration. Future vehicle generations are no longer designed only for an internal combustion engine, but rather must also be suitable for an electric motor or for a combination of internal combustion engine and electric motor.
To be able to provide a high degree of variability with respect to the drive technology in the future vehicle generations, it is necessary for the vehicle body structure to be designed to house all of these drive variants and their components required for this purpose, for example, the fuel tank, and/or the batteries. Development and/or manufacturing costs may be saved. However, the previously known motor vehicles have a vehicle body structure which does not satisfactorily allow the housing of the drive variants in this variability. Voluminous components of the drive system, such as the fuel tank, muffler, and/or a catalytic converter of the exhaust system, currently may not be housed below the floor plate of the motor vehicle, since longitudinal girders of the frame structure for the vehicle body are situated therein in such a manner that sufficient installation space for this purpose has previously not been provided.
At least one object of providing a frame structure for a motor vehicle having the features mentioned at the beginning, by which the most flexible possible arrangement of components, such as tank, batteries, exhaust system, universal shaft, and/or fuel lines or brake lines can be implemented below the floor plate of the vehicle body. Components of different drive technologies are also to be able to be housed below the floor plate in a flexible manner. Furthermore, a vehicle body is to be proposed, which is suitable for the installation of such a frame structure. In addition, other objects, desirable features, and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent summary and detailed description, and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.